Boys unable to pull upset over Evansville
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The first meeting with Clinton last week had an epic finish for the Big Foot girls basketball team.
And through 18 minutes of the rematch on Tuesday night, it looked like the Chiefs were well on their way once again.
That’s when the Cougars roared back, however, and forced a tie at the top of the Rock Valley Conference’s South Division.
Big Foot led 34-29 at halftime, but Clinton outscored the Chiefs 48-27 in the second half and rolled to a 77-61 victory.
The loss dropped the Chiefs to 14-6 overall and 10-4 in the RVC. Big Foot and Clinton are tied for the lead with just two conference games remaining.
Big Foot had taken a one-game lead over the Cougars with a 64-60 double overtime home win last week.
Reagan Courier led the Chiefs on Tuesday with 20 points, followed by Payton Courier with 13 and Olivia Briggs with 11. Yesenia Gonzalez and Zanzie Demco each chipped in with six points apiece.
Big Foot opened its week with a 61-52 road victory Feb. 2 at Brodhead.
The Chiefs led 32-26 at halftime and outscored the Cardinals 29-26 in the final 18 minutes.
Reagan and Payton Courier each had 14 points for Big Foot, followed by Brooke Wellhausen with 12 and Gonzalez with 10.
Big Foot is back in action Friday night when it hosts Parkview at 7:15 p.m.
Attempts to reach Big Foot head coach Rick Schoenbeck for comment were unsuccessful by press time.
Chiefs’ upset bid falls short
For one half on Monday night, the Big Foot boys basketball team hung right with one of the top teams in the RVC North Division.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, however, they couldn’t quite get over the hump.
Big Foot trailed Evansville, currently in second place in the RVC North, by just four points at the intermission, but the Blue Devils held off the upset bid for a 74-65 victory.
The loss, Big Foot’s 13th straight, dropped the Chiefs to 3-15 overall and 2-10 in the RVC. Big Foot’s last win came Dec. 9, a 60-49 decision over Jefferson.
Logan Eischeid led the Chiefs with 20 points, followed by Heath Dillenbeck with 17 and Beau Cary with 12. Evansville’s Brennan Banks poured in a game-high 26 points for the Blue Devils.
The loss Monday came on the heels of a 96-62 loss Feb. 3 at South Division leader Beloit Turner.
Turner led 42-32 at halftime, but blew the game open in the final 18 minutes with a 54-30 advantage.
Eischeid had 23 points and six rebounds to lead the Chiefs, followed by Beau Cary with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Michael Petkoff grabbed four rebounds for the Chiefs.
Big Foot was back in action Thursday night to face visiting Brodhead, followed by a home game next Tuesday, Feb. 14, against Clinton at 7:15 p.m.
Attempts to reach Big Foot coach Mike Dowden for comment about this week’s games were unsuccessful.
Berryman second at tourney
Big Foot’s Travis Berryman finished second at 120 pounds to highlight the Chiefs’ effort at Saturday’s RVC Tournament.
Berryman advanced to the finals with pins in 1:37 and 49 seconds over Whitewater’s Cody Gamble and Edgerton’s Jake Davis, respectively. In the finals, he fell 3-1 to Beloit Turner’s Trey Bivens.
Nick Freymiller (285) was fifth for the Chiefs, while Titus Fredrick (132) was seventh. Malachi Fredrick (182) also competed, but did not place.
Big Foot was 11th in the 11-team tournament with 66 points. Evansville-Albany won the team title with 395.5 points, followed by Whitewater with 297 and Beloit Turner with 262.
